Director Ernest Parrey, Jr. was given a Rice letter over his conduct
TRENTON -- Trenton's police director faces a hearing before City Council next week over council members' concerns about his conduct toward them and two residents.
Director Ernest Parrey, Jr. was given a Rice letter, notifying him that his employment status would be discussed by council on Tuesday. He has the right to waive the privacy of the closed session and plans to do so.
"I have no reservations about doing this and doing it in public," he said. "I will gladly answer questions and present myself as well.
"I have a lot invested in this city with respect to the work that I have done and I've worked on ties with the community," he continued. "I'm somewhat disappointed that this is the way the matter is going to be handled, but if that's the way it has to be, then so be it."
This will be the second Rice hearing this month. Last week, Deputy Clerk Cordelia Staton appeared before council after a meeting was not recorded.
Parrey's notice stems from his interactions with council members Marge Caldwell-Wilson and George Muschal following the Feb. 4 meeting and his response to resident complaints about the police department at the March 17 meeting.
Caldwell-Wilson said she approached Parrey to talk about a problem in her ward when she says he started screaming at her about council members asking too many questions and challenging now-former Public Works Director Jacqueline Foushee about the city's snow-removal efforts after the blizzard.
"We can't have a director screaming at us because we ask questions," she said. "He just really got me upset. He was very disrespectful. I would prefer to give him the benefit of the doubt to explain his actions."
Muschal, unaware of the incident with Caldwell-Wilson, said that as he was walking down the stairs, Parrey got into a "loud dispute" with him over Foushee.
In both incidents, he said, the mayor's chief of staff had to separate Parrey from the council members.
Mayor Eric Jackson said Thursday that he has full confidence in Parrey's work and knows that he can continue to move the city in the right direction.
"I think we're spending our time on a disagreement of an issue when we should be putting our time into how to continue to improve our city," he said. "Clearly, there will be times when we disagree, but the test is how we handle those moments."
Muschal said the last straw was Parrey's tone and behavior March 17 when a mother and son criticized the police department's lack of action.
Delores and Joseph Harrison said they have had ongoing problems with someone who rents a nearby garage. The man, they said, has repeatedly threatened them, damaged one of their surveillance cameras and blocks the street with cars that he works on to turn around and sell.
Every time they called police, the man was long gone by the time the officers arrived, they said.
"What are we going to do? Are we going to wait until we get killed?" Delores Harrison said at the meeting. "I'm sick and tired of the Trenton Police Department. ... They're getting paid for sitting and doing nothing and I'm disgusted with it."
When Parrey stood at the podium to respond, he said police have gone out both during the day and at night, but would prefer to see the two sides sit through formal mediation with a judge.
"She may not be satisfied with the work of the Trenton Police Department, but unfortunately, this is more of a neighbors' dispute that can't seem to be resolved amicably," Parrey told council. "I feel their pain, I understand it and I'm willing to do what needs to be done, but there is only so much we could do under the law with respect to the individual."
Councilman Alex Bethea reminded Parrey that they work for the city's residents.
"We're not working for ourselves and I think if she has a complaint and she has a concern, then we need to address her concern with compassion," he said. "Since you're the head man in charge, then it would helpful that you would try to meet her on mutual ground, understand her feelings and hope that we can work that out in a peaceful manner."
Parrey responded that he does that with every resident, but Bethea countered that his response showed otherwise.
"I thought that you were a little abrasive and I was just asking you ... to bring it down a little bit," Bethea said. "Because based on your presentation, she could have felt a little intimidated and that's not your intent and that's not the objective and that's not what we want."
Joseph Harrison on Thursday said that when Parrey approached them after the meeting, his face was red and his voice grew louder.
"It just seemed his emotions got the better of him," he said. "But you're a director, you can't act like that. ... The way he came across, to me, it was unprofessional."
Tuesday's meeting starts at 5:30 p.m. in City Council chambers.
Cristina Rojas may be reached at crojas@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @CristinaRojasTT. Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.